On a VectorLinux Standard computer I've just acquired, I updated several programs from the VL6 repos. I am now getting an error when I try to start Firefox, SeaMonkey, and Gslapt (maybe others; I haven't tried yet). The programs won't start. The relevant part of the message is:symbol lookup error: /usr/lib/libgdk_pixbuf-2.0.so.0: undefined symbol: g_malloc_n

I copied /usr/lib/libgdk_pixbuf-2.0 and its associated files from my SOHO RC3 system. CBTracker, which I use for a checkbook register, needed the file.

How do I fix this? If I delete the libgdk_pixbuf-2 files I copied, are there files in the repo that will supply them if something needs them?--GrannyGeek

I'm back in business after being unable to start X after several reboots. It occurred to me that I had a new USB mouse plugged in. After I unplugged it, XFce started, Firefox and SeaMonkey started, and all appears to be well.

Now I have to figure out how I can disable the touchpad and have just the mouse. I'll compare with my other laptop, where the touchpad is disabled.

It didn't occur to me that the mouse was the problem because it was working along with the touchpad for several hours. I don't know why VL6 suddenly became displeased.--GrannyGeek

I discovered that I have some instructions for how I disabled the touchpad in my Tuxcards computer file. It involves editing xorg.conf and can require a bit of fiddling. When I get around to it....

I can't find anything in VASM about disabling a touchpad. Did I miss it? Nor do I recall ever getting an option to disable a touchpad during installation.

The computer in question is a Dell Inspiron 1100 laptop. It's the one I fixed up for my grandson over a year ago when he had managed to make it almost unusably slow due to malware infestations. I put VL 6 Standard on it and it ran nicely. He got a new laptop with Win 7 around Christmas and I guess that's it for Linux. Nobody was using the old laptop and I said I'd like it for GrampaGeek if nobody wanted it. My son brought it when he was here a week ago.

I've been getting it to my liking and will set it up for my husband after a USB wireless adapter arrives; I ordered it today. He'll be using it at the kitchen table to read stuff on the Internet. I've served notice that we're not renewing print magazine subscriptions because I'm tired of being inundated with "paper" around here. There is so much to read online that getting print magazines seems superfluous.

The Dell laptop is a 2.4 GHz Celeron with 256 megs of RAM and a 20-gig hard drive. I ordered a 512-meg stick today, which should give us 640 megs of RAM--a huge improvement. I must say that the laptop has a very nice keyboard, much better than the 7-year-old Toshiba I use and better than the Gateway that died at not-quite 2 a year ago. Even the touchpad is quite usable; it's the best touchpad I've ever used and is why I'm not too urgent about setting the machine up for a mouse and disabling the touchpad.

The biggest downside of the laptop is the 20-gig hard drive. I have 13 gigs for VL6 Standard and the rest is the smallest usable Win XP I could get back when I was fixing it up for my grandson. I'm going to reformat the Windows partition for Linux; I may even reinstall and use the whole drive as / .

I have a 160-gig laptop drive I took out of my dead Gateway and I was hoping I could use it in this Dell laptop, but unfortunately the internal connector is incompatible and can't be made to fit.--GrannyGeek

If you load the synaptics driver for your touchpad, you can do some neat things with it, like edge or two finger scrolling. I like the option that disables the pad as soon as you start typing. The driver also allows you to turn it on and off with a shell command. I mapped a keyboard combination to the on/off function.

I included a little utility in VL6 Light that may be of help to you. Find it attached to this message.

Many new developments here. It turns out that the 160-gig drive DOES fit, but you have to remove an adapter from the old drive pins and put it on the replacement drive. I would never have known about this adapter (it's pretty well hidden when you look at the drive), but I happened to read some comments on Dell's store for replacements and upgrades and a few users mentioned it. I took the old drive out again and looked and what do you know? There was the adapter! When I put it on the replacement drive, I was able to install it. It would have helped if Dell had mentioned the adapter *anywhere* at all. Many users posted that the drive didn't fit and were unaware of the adapter. If I hadn't read many comments I'd still be using the 20-gig drive. :-(

The computer is too old for 48-bit LBA, so 128 formatted gigs is the maximum the computer can use. Partition Commander said not to format past this point. (There is no jumper to limit the size of the drive the BIOS sees to what it can use.)

I made a partition for / and a partition for /home (and a swap partition) and installed VL6 Light on the new big drive. At this time I have just 256 megs of RAM but I have a 512-meg stick coming next week and I may spring for another 512, to max the computer out at a gig.

I'm using a mouse but I haven't disabled the touchpad. So far it has not been an issue. It doesn't act erratic like touchpads often do, it doesn't send clicks seemingly by accident, and it doesn't interfere with typing. So if it behaves I'll leave it "as is." This Dell laptop has the best keyboard of any laptop I've used.

VL6 Light isn't "light" any more, as I've installed many additional programs and I don't care how "heavy" they are. I like Light because I can make it exactly what I want it to be. I actually like IceWM quite a bit, though it's a bit of a pain to configure it with text files.

The Intel 82845G/GLI Brookdale G1/GE graphics chipset is proving to be somewhat problematic. I'll start a thread about some of the problems and hope someone can help me take care of the loose ends. But I've been using the laptop for about 10 hours today without problems.

This has been like getting a new computer! It performs really well on just 256 megs (but does use some swap), so when it has 640 or 1 gig it should be everything I could want.--GrannyGeek